Serving the mental health
needs of the Barrington
community since 1972!
MEET OUR THERAPISTS
Isabel Acevedo, MA LCPC
Isabel Acevedo, LCPC has returned to BYFS as a Bilingual Clinical Therapist. She has experience as a therapist in a wide variety of settings and has been working in the field since 2012. She likes to help her clients reach their full potential and likes to develop strong theraputic rapport with her clients to ensure that they feel safe and understood. She likes to help her clients challenge their unproductive beliefs and limiting behaviors by helping them discover their self-worth.
She has a wide range of experience in trauma and the effects of abuse. She has five years worth of group counseling experience and has also worked in an inpatient hospital setting for a few years. Isabel has worked with a large range of issues and is fluent in Spanish and bicultural. She is currently a University Professor, teaching psychology courses. Isabel looks forward to working with you and helping you be in a better place emotionally.
Richard Cornwall, MSW
Join us in Welcoming Richard Cornwall, MSW to BYFS. Richard comes to us with years of varied experience working with adults, adolescents and children. He has used narrative, music and play therapy as effective means to working with his clients. Richard has his BS in Social Work from University of Wisconsin Whitewater and his Masters in Social Work from George Williams College of Aurora University. Richard will be sitting for his LCSW license this Fall.
Tia Cobb, LPC, NBCC
Tia is a Licensed Professional Counselor whose passion is supporting her clients on their life journey. She focuses on highlighting her clients’ strengths while acknowledging and building upon challenging areas. She recognizes that therapy is a collaborative effort and exercises compassion in their journey together. Tia utilizes her strong background in both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) to help clients achieve better coping strategies in life. Tia graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Loyola University Chicago and holds a Masters of Education in Counseling degree from DePaul University. Tia has had a range of experience working with children, adolescents, and adults at different levels of care. Tia is a National Board Certified Counselor and will take the exam for her LCPC license in fall.
Elisa Tessier, LCSW
Elisa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 20 years of experience working with children and their parents. She enjoys developing a therapeutic relationship with parents to further develop their relationship with their children. In order to support the child, she strives to be a consistent partner with parents to explore effective communication styles that promotes positive behaviors from their children. She incorporates an empathetic and collaborative approach in therapy, walking alongside clients on their personal journey. Elisa works to build productive relationships with families, children, school districts, doctors, churches, and community agencies, focusing on providing the best environment for her clients to thrive. As a professional, passionate and caring advocate, Elisa facilitates and supports awareness and connection among stakeholders to develop successful strategies, meet mutual goals, and provide better outcomes. She strongly believes in working collaboratively, as partners, which allows learning from one another for the benefit of her clients.
Wendy Wiesman, MSW
Wendy earned her Master’s in Social Work degree from Aurora University. Her experience includes working with individuals who have had co-occurring disorders, mental health counseling, case management, and crisis intervention. Wendy utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help individuals uncover their full potential. Her focus is to help individuals heal and become aware of their inner strengths. Wendy is currently in the office on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 PM to 8:00 PM. She is currently in the process of furthering her education to be a certified school social worker and will sit for the LCSW license in the near future!
MEET OUR STAFF
As a parent and lifelong Barrington community member, I see incredible importance in the mission of BYFS. As a nonprofit professional, the opportunity to work alongside community leaders and board members to help shape the vision of this great organization and the impact it will have on our families and community is exciting. I am honored to be trusted with this role.
My professional experience includes nonprofit management and marketing and communications for multiple professional societies and volunteer-run organizations; corporate sales and marketing, and social work in group home settings.
I am a mom to two wonderful children, Ellie (17) and Harry (12), married to a fabulous man (Harry) and owner of two happy hounds.
Please feel free to reach out if I can be of assistance. I look forward to meeting many of you out in the community!
Betsy Wintringer, Executive Director
Anne Baumfeld, Director of Special Projects
Anne is BYFS' Director of Special projects where she delivers project management, strategic planning and implementation support for key organizational initiatives.
Along with a passion for service and community, Anne brings considerable experience and expertise to the role, having held several leadership and development roles at domestic and international non-profit organizations before joining BYFS in April 2018. She also served as Treasurer of BYFS' Auxiliary Board from 2016-2018.
Anne holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Master's degree in Public Administration from New York University. She lives in Barrington with her husband, three children and two terriers.
Kiran Birdi, Office Manager
Kiran joined BYFS in November of 2018 and brings with her over a decade of customer service experience as well as several years of management experience working as a Practice Manager at a psychiatrist’s office here in Barrington.
Kiran oversees office operations and is committed to making our patients', and their families', experience at BYFS a positive one. She encourages a work environment that provides excellent customer service to clients, outside professionals as well as internal clinicians with her positive attitude and friendly demeanor.
Born and raised in England UK, Kiran graduated from the University of Wolverhampton with a Bachelor’s degree in Law. She moved to the US in 1999 and resides in the Northwest Suburbs with her husband, daughter, and two sons.